Vehicle and electric bicycle charge monitoring interface

ABSTRACT

A vehicle system includes a charging interface that is configured to connect to a bicycle battery and a processing device programmed to determine a state of charge of the bicycle battery. The processing device further estimates traveling ranges of a vehicle and a bicycle. The vehicle system further includes a navigation module programmed to generate a route to a selected destination based on the estimated traveling ranges of the vehicle and the bicycle.

BACKGROUND

The range of a battery-powered vehicle is limited by the state of chargeof the battery. The operator of a battery-powered vehicle is responsiblefor monitoring the battery state of charge much the same way an operatorof a gas-powered vehicle is responsible for monitoring a fuel tanklevel. Failing to monitor the battery state of charge could leave thebattery-powered vehicle stranded or otherwise unable to reach itsdestination. To help the vehicle operator monitor the battery state ofcharge, battery-powered vehicles often present a measured or estimatedbattery state of charge to a vehicle operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example vehicle that has a system that considersvehicle and bicycle battery states of charge when generating routes to aselected destination.

FIG. 2 is an example block diagram of the vehicle system that may beincorporated into the vehicle of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example bicycle that may be used with the vehicleand vehicle system of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example mobile device that may beincorporated into or used with the bicycle of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process that may be executed by thevehicle system or the mobile device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Vehicle operators with access to different types of electric vehiclesmay be able to better navigate through crowded urban areas. Forinstance, when travelling to a destination in a congested area, anelectric vehicle such as a battery-powered car or truck may be used toget the vehicle operator to an intermediate location on the outskirts ofthe congested area. From there, the vehicle operator can switch toanother electric vehicle such as a battery-powered bicycle. The vehicleoperator can use the battery-powered bicycle to go from the intermediatearea to the destination.

The electric bicycle may be stowed in the electric vehicle, and theelectric vehicle may charge the electric bicycle via a common charginginterface. Moreover, the electric vehicle may include a system that hasa processing device programmed to determine a state of charge of thevehicle battery and the bicycle battery. The processing device furtherestimates traveling ranges of a vehicle and a bicycle based on thestates of charge. A navigation module may be programmed to generate aroute to the destination based on the estimated traveling ranges of thevehicle and the bicycle.

With this system, the vehicle operator will know whether the electricvehicle has sufficient battery power to get to the intermediate locationand whether the electric bicycle has sufficient battery power to go fromthe intermediate location to the destination and from the destinationback to the intermediate location on a single charge. Moreover, thesystem can determine whether the vehicle battery will have sufficientcharge for the electric vehicle to travel from the intermediate locationto a charging location and whether the electric vehicle can charge thebicycle battery while travelling from the intermediate location to thecharging location.

Alternatively, although discussed in the context of electric vehicles,the concept may be applied to other types of vehicles such asgas-powered or hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrid-electricvehicles. For gas or hybrid vehicles, the electric bicycle battery canbe charged by a gas engine or other powertrain component in addition toor instead of by the vehicle battery. Charging the electric bicyclebattery via the gas engine may increase the range of the electricbicycle.

The elements shown in the figures may take many different forms andinclude multiple and/or alternate components and facilities. The examplecomponents illustrated are not intended to be limiting. Indeed,additional or alternative components and/or implementations may be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 100 is powered by anon-board battery 105 and includes a vehicle system 110 (see FIG. 2) thatcan generate a route to a destination based on the states of charge ofthe on-board battery 105 as well as batteries of other vehicles, such asan electric bicycle 135 (see FIG. 3). The on-board battery 105 may beconfigured to provide electrical power to any number of vehiclesubsystems or accessories. Moreover or alternatively, the on-boardbattery 105 may provide electrical power to a motor that can propel thevehicle 100.

Further, instead of charging the electric bicycle 135 via the on-boardbattery 105, the vehicle system 110 may be configured to direct agasoline engine or other powertrain component to charge the bicycle 135.Thus, the system 110 may be incorporated into gas-powered vehicles andhybrid vehicles including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Although illustrated as a sedan, the electric vehicle 100 may includeany passenger or commercial vehicle such as a car, a truck, a sportutility vehicle, a taxi, a bus, etc. In some possible approaches, theelectric vehicle 100 is an autonomous vehicle configured to operate inan autonomous (e.g., driverless) mode, a partially autonomous mode,and/or a non-autonomous mode. The bicycle 135 (see FIG. 3) may be stowedin the vehicle 100 in, e.g., the trunk or other compartment or mountedto a carrier on top of or behind the vehicle 100.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the vehicle system 110 may include a charginginterface 115, a processing device 120, and a navigation module 125.

The charging interface 115 may allow the on-board battery 105 toelectrically connect to a power source, which may include a gasolineengine, another battery, such as a bicycle battery 140 (see FIGS. 3 and4), or both. When connected to the power source, the on-board battery105 may be charged through the charging interface 115. That is, thestate of charge of the on-board battery 105 may increase while the powersource is plugged into the charging interface 115. Moreover or in thealternative, the charging interface 115 may facilitate the charging ofthe bicycle battery 140 by the on-board battery 105 or other powersource. Thus, by plugging the bicycle battery 140 into the charginginterface 115, electrical energy from the on-board battery or otherpower source 105 may charge the bicycle battery 140. When the system 110is incorporated into a gas-powered vehicle or a hybrid vehicle,including a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the charging interface 115may be used to connect the bicycle battery 140 to other types of powersources 105 such as a gasoline engine on-board the vehicle 100.

The processing device 120 may be programmed to monitor the batteriesplugged into the charging interface 115. Thus, the processing device 120may determine the states of charge of the on-board battery 105, thebicycle battery 140, or both. Moreover, the processing device 120 may beconfigured to estimate a traveling range of the batteries. The travelingrange may be a function of the state of charge and the type of vehicle(e.g., an automobile or a bicycle). Since bicycles are typically lighterthan most automobiles, a bicycle may travel further with a bicyclebattery 140 having the same or a lower state of charge relative to anon-board battery 105, for example.

The navigation module 125 may be programmed to determine a position ofthe vehicle 100. The navigation module 125 may include a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) receiver configured to triangulate the positionof the vehicle 100 relative to satellites or terrestrial basedtransmitter towers. The navigation system, therefore, may be configuredfor wireless communication. The navigation system may be furtherprogrammed to develop routes from the current location to a selecteddestination, as well as display a map and present driving directions tothe selected destination via, e.g., a user interface device. Ingenerating the route, the navigation module 125 may consider theestimated traveling ranges of both the vehicle 100 and the bicycle 135.For instance, the route may specify using the vehicle 100 to travel froma starting (i.e., current) location to an intermediate location. Becausetraveling the route to the intermediate location relies upon the vehicle100, the route may include roads or other infrastructure where vehicletraffic is permitted. The intermediate location may include a parkinglot at the outskirts of a crowded urban area or other area where vehiclenavigation is difficult. Once the vehicle 100 is parked, the route mayspecify using the bicycle 135 to travel from the intermediate locationto the selected destination. The route from the intermediate location tothe selected destination may include infrastructure that is suited forbicycle traffic. Examples of such infrastructure may include bike paths,bicycle lanes, sidewalks (where permitted), etc., in addition to roads.

The navigation module 125 may be further programmed to consider whetherthe bicycle battery 140 has sufficient charge to return to the vehicle100 at the intermediate location from the selected destination, andwhether the on-board battery 105 has sufficient charge to travel fromthe intermediate location to the nearest charging station. If not, thenavigation module 125 may prompt the user to seek an alternative routeor charge the on-board battery 105 or bicycle battery 140 prior toembarking on the route. As discussed above, the on-board battery 105 orthe bicycle battery 140 can be charged by a gasoline engine or otherpower source, in which case the charging station may include a gasstation. Moreover, the navigation module 125 may consider whether thebicycle battery 140 can be charged by the on-board battery 105 via,e.g., the charging interface 115, while the vehicle 100 travels from theintermediate location to the nearest charging station. The navigationmodule 125 may communicate whether the on-board battery 105 can bothcharge the bicycle battery 140 and reach the charging location to theprocessing device 120 or the charging interface 115. The processingdevice 120 or charging interface 115 may facilitate the charging of thebicycle battery 140 accordingly, which may include waiting to charge thebicycle battery 140 until the on-board battery 105 has been at leastpartially recharged.

The communication module may be programmed to facilitate wired orwireless communication between the components of the vehicle 100 andother devices, such as a remote server or even another vehicle whenusing, e.g., a vehicle-to-vehicle communication protocol. Thecommunication module may be configured to receive messages from, andtransmit messages to, a cellular provider's tower and the TelematicsService Delivery Network (SDN) associated with the vehicle 100 that, inturn, establishes communication with a user's mobile device such as acell phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a fob, or any otherelectronic device configured for wireless communication via a secondaryor the same cellular provider. Cellular communication to the telematicstransceiver through the SDN may also be initiated from an internetconnected device such as a PC, Laptop, Notebook, or WiFi connectedphone. The communication module may also be programmed to communicatedirectly from the vehicle 100 to the user's remote device or any otherdevice using any number of communication protocols such as Bluetooth®,Bluetooth® Low Energy, or WiFi. An example of a vehicle-to-vehiclecommunication protocol may include, e.g., the dedicated short rangecommunication (DSRC) protocol.

Accordingly, the communication module may be configured to receivesignals that the navigation module 125 may use to, e.g., triangulate thelocation of the vehicle 100 or bicycle 135. Moreover, the communicationmodule may be programmed to transmit routes generated by the navigationmodule 125 to, e.g., the bicycle 135 or a mobile device 150 (see FIG.4). In addition or in the alternative, the communication module may beprogrammed to transmit the states of charge of the bicycle battery 140or the on-board battery 105 to the bicycle 135 or the mobile device 150.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example bicycle 135 that may be used with thevehicle 100 and vehicle system 110 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The bicycle 135 maybe an electric bicycle with an electric motor 145 powered by a powersource such as a bicycle battery 140. The bicycle battery 140 mayprovide the electric motor 145 with an electric change. In response, theelectric motor 145 may rotate. The rotation of the electric motor 145may drive the wheels, propelling the bicycle 135. The bicycle battery140 may be configured to connect to the charging interface 115 on-boardthe vehicle 100. Therefore, the on-board battery 105 may charge thebicycle battery 140. Alternatively or in addition, the bicycle battery140 may be charged when the vehicle 100 or charging interface 115 isplugged into a power source.

A mobile device 150, implementing a bicycle system 155, may beincorporated into or otherwise used with the bicycle 135. Referring nowto FIG. 4, the mobile device 150 may include a communication module 160,a processing device 165, and a navigation module 170 to implement thebicycle system 155. These components may operate similar tocorresponding vehicle 100 components, described above with reference toFIG. 2. That is, the communication module 160 of the bicycle 135 mayfacilitate wired or wireless communication, the processing device 165may be programmed to estimate traveling ranges of the vehicle 100 orbicycle 135 based on the states of charge of the on-board battery 105 orbicycle battery 140, and the navigation module 170 may be programmed togenerate routes to a selected destination that considers the estimatedtraveling ranges. The routes generated by the navigation module 170 mayinclude a route from a current location to an intermediate locationbased on the state of charge of the on-board battery 105 and a routefrom the intermediate location to the selected destination based on thestate of charge of the bicycle battery 140. The navigation module 170may consider the infrastructure available to the vehicle 100 and bicycle135 when generating the routes. Moreover, the navigation module 170 mayconsider whether the bicycle battery 140 can be charged by the on-boardbattery 105 or gasoline engine (if available) via, e.g., the charginginterface 115, while the vehicle 100 travels from the intermediatelocation to the nearest charging station. The navigation module 170 maycommunicate whether the on-board battery 105 can both charge the bicyclebattery 140 and reach the charging location to the processing device 165or the charging interface 115. The processing device 165 or charginginterface 115 may facilitate the charging of the bicycle battery 140accordingly, which may include waiting to charge the bicycle battery 140until the on-board battery 105 has been at least partially recharged.Accordingly, the system incorporated into the vehicle 100 describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 can be implemented on a mobiledevice 150 such as a cell phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, orthe like.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process 500 that may be executed bythe vehicle system 110 or the bicycle system 155. As discussed above,the bicycle system 155 may be executed by, e.g., a mobile device 150incorporated into or used with the bicycle 135. The process 500 may beinitiated, for example, when the bicycle battery 140 is plugged into thecharging interface 115 on-board the vehicle and after the user hasselected a destination.

At block 505, the processing device 120, 165 may receive state of chargedata associated with the on-board battery 105, the bicycle battery 140,or both. In some instances, the state of charge data is collected by thecharging interface 115 located on the vehicle 100 and transmitted to theprocessing device 120, 165 via, e.g., the communication module 130, 160through a wired or wireless communication protocol.

At block 510, the processing device 120, 165 may estimate the travelingdistances of the vehicle 100 and the bicycle 135. The traveling distanceof the vehicle 100 may be estimated from the state of charge of theon-board battery 105 or the amount of fuel in the gas tank. Thetraveling distance of the bicycle 135 may be estimated from the state ofcharge of the bicycle battery 140. The traveling distance estimates maybe transmitted to the navigation module 125, 170.

At block 515, the navigation module 125, 170 may receive the estimatedtraveling distances and generate a route to the selected destination.The route may include a route from the current location of the vehicle100 to an intermediate location. The route to the intermediate locationmay be based on the state of charge of the on-board battery 105 or thebicycle battery 140 (i.e., whether the bicycle battery 140 hassufficient charge to the destination location and back to theintermediate location), and may rely on infrastructure available to thevehicle 100. The route may further include a route from the intermediatelocation to the selected destination based on the state of charge of thebicycle battery 140. Moreover, the route to the selected destination mayidentify infrastructure available for bicycle traffic.

At decision block 520, the navigation module 125, 170 may determinewhether the on-board battery 105 has sufficient charge for the vehicle100 to reach a charging location from the intermediate location. In thecontext of gas-powered or hybrid vehicles, the navigation module 125,170 may determine whether the fuel tank has sufficient fuel for thevehicle 100 to reach a gas station. If so, the process 500 may continueat block 525. Otherwise, the process 500 may continue at block 540.

At decision block 525, the navigation module 125, 170 may determinewhether the on-board battery 105 or other power source can get thevehicle 100 to the charging location, which in the context of agas-powered vehicle may include a gas station, while also charging thebicycle battery 140 via the charging interface 115. If so, the process500 may continue at block 530. If the on-board battery 105 or otherpower source is unable to reach the charging location and charge thebicycle battery 140, the process 500 may continue at block 535.

At block 530, the navigation module 125, 170 or processing device 120,165 may output a command to the charging interface 115 to charge thebicycle battery 140 with power output from the on-board battery 105 orgasoline engine. Outputting the command may include outputting a signalor setting a flag. The process 500 may end after block 530.

At block 535, the navigation module 125, 170 or processing device 120,165 may output a command to the charging interface 115 to refrain fromcharging the bicycle battery 140 with power output from the on-boardbattery 105 or gasoline engine. Outputting the command may take the formof transmitting a signal or setting a flag. The process 500 may endafter block 530.

At block 540, the navigation module 125, 170 or processing device 120,165 may output an alert to the user indicating that the selecteddestination is beyond the reach of the vehicle 100 and bicycle 135. Thealert may include an audible alert, a visual alert, or both. The alertmay, in some instances, instruct the user to take the vehicle 100 to theclosest charging location so that the states of charge of the on-boardbattery 105 and the bicycle battery 140 may be increased. Forgas-powered vehicles, the charging location may include a gas station.In some possible approaches, the alert may prompt the user to indicatewhether the gasoline engine should be used to charge the on-boardbattery 105 (if applicable), the bicycle battery 140, or both. After atleast one of the states of charge has been increased, the navigationmodule 125, 170 or processing device 120, 165 may reevaluate whether thevehicle 100 and bicycle 135 can reach the selected destination at thenext key-on cycle or the next time the user selects a destination.

In general, the computing systems and/or devices described may employany of a number of computer operating systems, including, but by nomeans limited to, versions and/or varieties of the Ford Sync® operatingsystem, the Microsoft Windows® operating system, the Unix operatingsystem (e.g., the Solaris® operating system distributed by OracleCorporation of Redwood Shores, Calif.), the AIX UNIX operating systemdistributed by International Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y., theLinux operating system, the Mac OS X and iOS operating systemsdistributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., the BlackBerry OSdistributed by Research In Motion of Waterloo, Canada, and the Androidoperating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance. Examples ofcomputing devices include, without limitation, an on-board vehiclecomputer, a computer workstation, a server, a desktop, notebook, laptop,or handheld computer, or some other computing system and/or device.

Computing devices generally include computer-executable instructions,where the instructions may be executable by one or more computingdevices such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions maybe compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using avariety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, withoutlimitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, VisualBasic, Java Script, Perl, etc. In general, a processor (e.g., amicroprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from a memory, acomputer-readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored andtransmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium thatparticipates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read bya computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may takemany forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media andvolatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical ormagnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include,for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted by oneor more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wire andfiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled toa processor of a computer. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any otheroptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium withpatterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

In some examples, system elements may be implemented ascomputer-readable instructions (e.g., software) on one or more computingdevices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.), stored on computerreadable media associated therewith (e.g., disks, memories, etc.). Acomputer program product may comprise such instructions stored oncomputer readable media for carrying out the functions described herein.

With regard to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc.described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps ofsuch processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to acertain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with thedescribed steps performed in an order other than the order describedherein. It further should be understood that certain steps could beperformed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or thatcertain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, thedescriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose ofillustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed soas to limit the claims.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description isintended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments andapplications other than the examples provided would be apparent uponreading the above description. The scope should be determined, not withreference to the above description, but should instead be determinedwith reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated andintended that future developments will occur in the technologiesdiscussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will beincorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should beunderstood that the application is capable of modification andvariation.

All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinarymeanings as understood by those knowledgeable in the technologiesdescribed herein unless an explicit indication to the contrary is madeherein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,” “the,”“said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicatedelements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.

The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain thenature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scopeor meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicle system comprising: a charginginterface configured to connect a bicycle battery; a processing deviceprogrammed to monitor the charging interface to determine a state ofcharge of the bicycle battery and a vehicle battery, and wherein theprocessing device is programmed to estimate traveling ranges of both avehicle and a bicycle; and a navigation module programmed to generate aroute to a selected destination based on the estimated traveling rangesof both the vehicle and the bicycle.
 2. The vehicle system of claim 1,wherein the bicycle battery is selectively charged when connected to thecharging interface.
 3. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein thebicycle battery is charged by a vehicle battery or vehicle powertrain.4. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein generating the route to theselected destination includes generating a route from a current locationto an intermediate location, and from the intermediate location to theselected destination.
 5. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein theroute from the current location to the intermediate location is based onthe state of charge of the vehicle battery.
 6. The vehicle system ofclaim 4, wherein the route from the intermediate location to theselected destination is based on the state of charge of the bicyclebattery.
 7. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein the navigation moduleis programmed to generate a route from the selected destination to theintermediate location.
 8. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein theroute from the selected destination to the intermediate location isbased at least in part on the state of charge of the bicycle battery. 9.The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein the navigation module isprogrammed to generate a route from the intermediate location to acharging location.
 10. The vehicle system of claim 9, wherein the routeto the charging location is based at least in part on a state of chargeof the vehicle battery.
 11. The vehicle system of claim 1, furthercomprising a communication module programmed to wirelessly transmit theroute to a mobile device.